Earlier
this week, DailyTech
brought you some early information the crossover
version of the Volt. Patent drawings of the vehicle were
uncovered which gave the general shape of the vehicle. Other than the
fact that the vehicle shared its platform with the Volt, not much
else was known about the vehicle.

Today,
however, General Motors is spilling the beans on the Chevrolet Volt
MPV5 Concept. The vehicle looks thoroughly modern and shares a
similar design theme up front with the Volt sedan. Out back, the Volt
sedan's taillight design is mimicked on the larger Volt MPV5. The Volt MPV5 even carries over the Volt sedan's Apple-esque dashboard fully intact.

"The
Volt MPV5 concept takes the efficient design of the Chevrolet Volt
and adapts it to the family vehicle crossover segment. It's
immediately recognizable as a true member of the Chevrolet family,"
said Bob Boniface, Director of GM North America Crossover Exterior
Design.

Whereas
the Volt sedan is seriously compromised in interior room due to a
large bulkhead running down the centerline of the vehicle – the
bulkhead houses the lithium-ion battery pack -- and is only capable
of carrying four people, the Volt MPV5 can carry five people. In
addition, the 180.5-inch long vehicle has a 30.5 cubic feet of cargo
space behind the rear seats -- that capacity jumps to 62.3 cubic feet
when you fold down the rear seats.

The
Volt MPV5 uses the same Voltec powertrain as the Volt
sedan which means that there is a 1.4-liter gasoline engine and a
16 kWh battery pack. Due to the additional weight and poorer
aerodynamics, the Volt MPV5 is only capable of traveling 32 miles using the
battery alone (compared to 40 miles for the Volt sedan). The total
driving range once the gasoline engine/generator kicks in is rated at
300+ miles according to GM. Top speed is listed at 100 mph.

"The
Volt MPV5 concept demonstrates the flexibility of the Voltec
propulsion system, which can produce enough electric power to propel
a range of vehicles. from a compact sedan like the Volt to a
crossover like the Volt MPV5 concept," said Doug Parks, Global
Vehicle Line Executive and Global Vehicle Chief Engineer for Electric
Vehicles at GM.

Given
America's penchant for crossover vehicles, the Volt MPV5 with its
increased people-carrying abilities and vastly superior hauling
capabilities may make it an even bigger hit than the original Volt.

"It's okay. The scenarios aren't that clear. But it's good looking. [Steve Jobs] does good design, and [the iPad] is absolutely a good example of that." -- Bill Gates on the Apple iPad